HORSE racing in Guyana is big business where it provides a significant boost to the country’s economy, but the lack of a critical piece of legislation that will legitimise its operations is responsible for the sport not being a bigger success story locally.

However, while a concerted effort is being made to have the sport run in the most effective way as possible, the passage and necessary enactment of the horse racing legislation is taking too long and by the time it comes to fruition, much irreparable damage could have been done to the sport.

To this end, Minister with the responsibility for Sport, Dr George Norton anticipates a speedy passage of the much-needed horse-racing legislation.
“If the legislation is there for parliament and must be assented to, then we have to do so, we should not have it waiting at the Attorney General Chambers.
“It’s not the first legislation to be formulated later than that and has become law, so I see no reason we should wait, because there is need for it, and if there is need for it everything possible must be done to make it a reality,” Dr Norton opined.

Minister Norton added, “It shouldn’t be rocket science for Guyana to have a legislation in place, let’s bring it to parliament and debate it, I can tell you right now we are working on an animal protection bill in a parliamentary select committee and it’s amazing what will happen when that bill becomes law in terms of the way animals will be protected by that bill and we must take that into consideration in the drafting of our legislation.”

The draft, Guyana Horse Racing Authority Act, which will allow the sport to run more effectively and to deal with violators, includes: increasing the membership of the Racing Authority from nine to 15; including the Bush Lot United Turf Club as a member of the GHRA and implementing a two-year term for members of the Authority.
The legislation, which was championed by former GHRA president Justice Cecil Kennard, will also give the GHRA the power to schedule race dates for race meetings in the event that a club is unable to run off a race meeting.

Dubbed the ‘Sport of Kings’, horse racing, since its resuscitation locally, has been operating under a legal document that was registered under the Miscellaneous Deeds Act.
But back in 2014, a key step to regularise the sport was taken when the-then Legal Adviser to the Guyana Horse Racing Authority (GHRA), Rajendra Poonai, handed over draft legislation on the sport to then Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony.

Nothing much was done by the previous administration with regard to the implementation of the legislation.

However, the present Government cannot escape some criticism since a copy of a horse racing legislation has been with the government since late 2015.